


To the Fourth Degree

by InfluentialPineapple



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Airport INsecurity, Anal, Anal Fingering, Arc Reactor Issues, Awesome Jarvis, BAMF Tony Stark, Graphic Description, Groping, Handcuffs, Hurt Tony, M/M, Protective Jarvis, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Straight Tony Stark, Tasers, The Arc Reactor Would Cause Chaos in an Airport, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tony Angst, Tony Misses Date Night, Transportation Security Administration, airport security, don't look at me like that, seriously though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-10
Updated: 2013-09-10
Packaged: 2017-12-26 04:33:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfluentialPineapple/pseuds/InfluentialPineapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's got to make it home for date night with Pepper or he's in big trouble and after a snafu with his private jet at JFK International, he's forced to do something horrible: fly commercial. </p><p>The indignities of airport security are something he can deal with, and when a TSA agent starts to get a little too handsy, he brushes it off. But his arc reactor... how could he have ever expected that to make it through? </p><p>And that's when a misunderstanding turns into one of the most horrific days of his entire life. Seriously, read the tags.</p><p>Written for AvengerKink Prompt: http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/17385.html?thread=38151657#t38151657</p>
            </blockquote>





	To the Fourth Degree

  
  
  


How obnoxiously inconvenient and embarrassing was this? 

  


Tony scowled down at his watch as it rolled away from him inside a bin along with his shoes, belt and dignity, noting that it was nearly 12PM. His flight was set to depart in exactly one hour, a flight on which he had a seat reserved in what could be loosely defined as 'first class'. In comparison to his usual luxurious flight experiences, commercial first class was basically a concentration camp. And he had exactly six hours to arrive in Malibu for date night with Pepper or he was in deep shit.

  


John F. Kennedy international airport was absolutely bustling. People of many different sizes, shapes, colors and backgrounds stood packed together in lines, all waiting to be subjected to the reproachful tactics of airline security. It seemed that nearly everyone in Manhattan had chosen that particular day to fly commercial and it happened to be the same day that Tony's own infamous jet had decided to crap out on him in what was an unprecedented catastrophe on the runway. Not to mention his damn suit had been confiscated by the TSA due to 'security concerns'. Insincere apologies and promises to deliver it safely to Malibu had been regurgitated at him following the incident. Tony had zero confidence in their assurances. 

  


"J, you with me?" He murmured into his Bluetooth earpiece, an item he refused to remove. He couldn't help but feel like he was being set up, but then again maybe that was just his paranoia getting the best of him again. Regardless, he wanted JARVIS readily available should shit turn sour. Luckily it was small enough for him to get away with it. Take that, establishment.

  


"Indeed, sir." The A.I. replied. 

  


Tony was about fourth back in line, and he eyed a tall, burly TSA agent as he patted down an elderly woman on the other side of the looming metal detector. "Keep an eyeball on the suit for me. Our wonderfully competent boys at the Transportation Security Administration decided it was a threat to our nation and her interests." He whispered bitterly. What a stupid fucking thing to have happen to him when he was on a time limit. For not the first time, and probably not the last, he cursed his shitty luck.

  


"Locking on now, sir." There was a small pause. "It really is quite a shame Miss Potts expects you so soon. I could have sent a replacement suit out to your location."

  


"Tell me about it." Tony said, wincing when he saw the TSA official shove his gloved hand into the groin of the young man two places in front of him in line. The agent was huge, probably six two, muscular, intimidating in every sense. He had messy brown hair and a stern face. Probably took the job to compensate for something, Tony thought with a smirk. Like a small dick resulting from far too many steroid injections. "Keep this line open and give me updates on the suits whereabouts every ten minutes." 

  


"Will do, sir." JARVIS assured him. "Do try to enjoy your first experience with airport security."

  


Tony rolled his eyes and stepped forward on socked feet, stopping at the red line to wait for permission to proceed through the metal detector. "JARVIS, you're gonna wake up as a toaster one day." 

  


The TSA agent was motioning for him to step through and Tony complied, swallowing down the anxiety that bubbled in his throat at the prospect of being touched; something totally not cool. 

  


"That would be most unwise, unless you wish to have your dirtiest secrets imprinted on everyone's breakfast for their viewing pleasure."

  


Tony smiled at this as he exited into the promise land of perceived safety on the other side of the black arch without issue. Thank god he'd designed his earpiece to include zero metallic parts. 

  


The TSA agent was frowning at him and Tony instinctively frowned back. "Something funny?" He grunted as he moved to stand in front of Tony, looming over him like a fucking mountain and making every attempt to make him feel as small as possible. 

  


Tony raised an eyebrow at the obvious aggression in his voice. "Your hands, I suppose. I mean, they're like cricket bats." He replied, eyeing the man's hands warily. "They look like you could comfortably juggle car doors."

  


The man, whose name tag identified him as 'Jim', ignored Tony's witty retort and pointed to a pair of circles imprinted in the carpet. "Feet there." He demanded coldly. "Arms outstretched."

  


He obeyed, and the indignity of that position was outrageous to him. It made him wonder why the hell people bothered to fly in this country at all. A three day cross-country road trip seemed more welcoming in comparison. "Be gentle with me, Cujo, it's my first time." It was said with a smirk, but hidden behind it was severe apprehension.

  


"Sir, suit has just departed JFK." JARVIS told him. Being reminded that his favorite A.I. was still with him gave Tony a small boost of confidence. 

  


"Oh, I don't doubt it." Jim snapped, and Tony just regarded him with confusion as he crouched down, wrapping enormous dinosaur hands around his left ankle and guiding them up his calf. Tony was thankful he'd worn jeans that day, unwittingly sparing himself from the hassle of wrinkled suit material. "What brings the great Tony Stark down here to mingle with the likes of us common folk?" 

  


There was so much bitterness in his voice that it was damn near caustic. It took Tony aback for a moment as the hands sliding up his calf reached his thigh, squeezing slowly, almost sensually and making him terribly uncomfortable and then they slid further up and- whoa, whoa, whoa, no-go area, NO-GO AREA.

  


"Hey. Hey! Lay off, pedophile!" he protested loudly, eyes wide as one of Jim's fucking dinner plates wrapped itself around his crotch. "The contents of that particular package are certainly explosive but I promise you I'm not hiding a bomb beneath my nut sack."

  


Jim smirked up at him, obviously amused by the amount of desperation in Tony's voice. The hand tightened ruthlessly and Tony emitted something in between a grunt and a whimper. "Can't be too careful, Mr. Stark." he said smugly, suggestively. Tony almost gagged at the inflection of his words. "Complacency puts lives at risk."

  


Tony gritted his teeth and willed himself not to cause a scene as his junk was released in favor of his right calf. It was only a little perverted security check, or whatever, and it would be over soon enough, right? He could get home, have his promised date with Pepper and deal with this idiot later. By making sure he was fucking fired. Tony held very good rapport with JFK administrative personnel.

  


The hands slid up his leg in a way that, once again left him feeling like he should start screaming 'rape' over and over, and paused at his groin to brush against the area many more times than what was necessary to assure public safety. Tony looked around himself, mouth slightly open with shocked incredulity but no one was watching, the airport patrons all remaining oblivious to the very apparent assault taking place, busy on their phones or with removing clothing or being checked themselves. 

  


"You never answered my question, Mr. Stark." Jim's gruff voice cut through his haze. The hands were now at his midriff, tightening around his hips before feeling along the inside of his waistband, sausage fingers delving just a little too deeply for comfort, although nothing about this had ever been comfortable in the slightest. He stared straight forward, jaw set and brow furrowed, refusing to give Jim an ounce of satisfaction in watching him squirm. Just think of Pepper. Deal with this psycho for her sake and get it over with.    

  


"Oh, just a series of extremely unfortunate events." Tony ground out, reserving any further aggression for the exact moment beefy hands removed themselves from his body. Currently, they were slithering up his sides like a pair of tainted snakes, sending an involuntary shiver up and down his form. The tension already present in his quivering muscles increased as they moved to rest on his chest, fingers pressing into hard muscle on either side of his arc reactor.

  


It was becoming a strenuous physical effort to not break Jim's meaty arms.

  


"Not bad, for a desk jockey." Jim muttered beneath his breath and Tony looked at him then and found a disturbing, suggestive smile plastered on his sick face. "Never would have guessed."

  


Tony bared his teeth and growled deep in his throat. "I happen to pilot the Iron Man." he said coldly, the implied threat left there for Jim to figure out on his own because at this point, he was lucky if Tony didn't locate his house and murder him in his sleep.

  


"Hmm, yes, too bad your little toy is on its way to California six miles in the air." He said with false regret and Tony flinched violently as those infringing fingers joined atop his sternum and located the arc reactor. Jim frowned deeply. Shit. "What's this?" He questioned, all hints of perversion gone from his voice and replaced with legitimate apprehensive curiosity. Tony's blood froze. The damn arc reactor was such a normal thing in his life now that he hadn't even considered what it would look like to security personnel. God, it looked like he really was smuggling a bomb. And few people even knew of the arc reactor's existence, let alone its purpose. 

  


"It's a, uh... complex pacemaker." He stammered, mouth moving by itself because everything else had checked out completely. His stomach twisted with sudden fear as Jim looked at him skeptically, backing away slightly. Oh, what, sexual assault only stops when a bomb is involved? Please.

  


"That's no pacemaker." Jim declared as though he fucking knew everything, and Tony released a huff of exasperation. "Lift your shirt."

  


In front of all these people? Fuck, fuck, fuck. Tony glanced around and saw that quite a few wide sets of eyes were on him now, drawn by instilled fear. Really, how does he get himself into situations like this? Stupid, Stark, so very stupid. He felt trapped, like an animal, and his heart raced. Another officer, slightly older than Jim's early thirties, had moved to stand next to his coworker, crossing his arms threateningly as he glared at Tony. "Goddammit." Tony swore, and tried to turn his torso away from the prying eyes of the crowd as he slowly rolled his shirt up, allowing the two officers to view it. His face burned as they scrutinized his arc reactor, mouths hanging open stupidly. 

  


"Sir, are you quite alright?" JARVIS in his ear. It took every ounce of self control Tony had to ignore him. He had the feeling he'd need JARVIS soon enough.

  


"That look like a pacemaker to you, Bob?" Jim questioned. 

  


The other man who was apparently 'Bob' shook his head slowly. "Never seen a glowing pacemaker." He commented. "That's gonna have to come out and make a trip through the x-ray, son."

  


That day was out to get him. Clearly. He was having to force himself to inhale and exhale now. "First; please don't call me 'son'." He said, lowering his shirt and regarding them with intense distrust. "Second; it doesn't really come out. It's embedded in my sternum and it keeps me alive." That was the extent of what they would get out of him. He stood there, fists clenched, knowing he was in serious trouble if the dubious glances the agents were exchanging with each other were any indication.  

  


An ominous hush had descended on the previously rambunctious crowd and there was no doubt in his mind that every single pair of eyes now rested on him. He felt like bolting, but being labeled a fugitive terrorist didn't exactly sit well with him.

  


"What do you think?" Tony distantly heard Jim ask over the roar of rushing blood in his ears. He braced himself.

  


"Well we can't let him on an aircraft with that." Bob replied. "Bring him in." 

  


Oh god, something was constricting his lungs. Like Jim's colossal hams had found their way inside him and were wringing the fuck out of them, preventing Tony from taking in full breaths. Jim was approaching him and what the hell was that glinting in his eyes? Bile began to rise, but he refused it purchase, swallowing it back down furiously. Desperation claimed him. "Wait, wait, look." He gasped out, lifting his shirt once more and placing shaking fingers around the edge of the arc reactor. With a grimace, he twisted the device and lifted it out of its casing only slightly. "See? Here. It's a medical device that powers an electromagnet and keeps me alive, that's all it is." Looking back up, his heart sank when he found that skepticism had transformed into fear upon the officers' faces. 

  


"Are those wires?" Bob asked, voice raised with sudden panic.

  


"Looks like it."

  


"Jesus, get him out of here and away from these civilians!"

  


"Already on it."

  


And there was a flurry of confusing action and movement as Tony was grabbed roughly by his biceps and forced to walk quickly into a hallway, away from eyes, away from witnesses. Behind him, a child's voice asked; "Mommy, where are they taking Iron Man?" and that was just too much for him and the injustice of the whole situation left him blind with hot, red anger. Nobody had stepped forward to protest his detainment. Ungrateful wastes of space and breath and molecules.

  


Anger brought the fight in him back to the surface and his vision cleared and senses returned. Jim and Bob were standing on either side of him, each holding one of Tony's arms behind his back as they pushed him forward. "Seriously, guys, it's a fucking pacemaker!" He insisted, finding his voice and making sure to utilize it loudly. "I was wounded in Afghanistan and took shrapnel in my chest and this keeps it from ripping my heart to shreds, come on, could we just- ah, fuck, -could we just stop for one goddamn second?! Listen to me!" He was shouting, determined to make himself heard, determined to not end up in a room with handsy Lou Ferrigno, but he didn't dare struggle although he wanted to so, so bad. 

  


"Calm down, Mr. Stark." Bob commanded and Tony wanted to spit at him. "We're just gonna hold you for a little while until we can verify that you're not transporting an explosive device."

  


"You're kidding me." Tony said with an inappropriate huffing chuckle. They reached the end of the hallway and turned into a room containing a single table and a chair which he was forced to sit on, before the two officers took a step back to study him like a chimp in a zoo. "This is absolutely ridiculous and I promise you, there will be two vacant positions at JFK in the near future." He snarled. It probably wasn't helping his case in the slightest but Jim was undressing him with his eyes in such a brash way that he could almost feel his shirt being peeled away from sweaty skin. He shivered. 

  


"You take care of him." Bob said with a sigh and every hair on Tony's body stood on end. Jim watched him with something akin to hunger flickering in his features. "I'll go start the paperwork."

  


"No, no! Wait!" Tony heard himself yell in a voice that scared him for all the terror in it as Bob strode out the door. He jumped up and tried to run to him, but Jim grabbed him, twisting his arms behind him and forcing him to his knees. "Don't leave me alone with this guy, he fucking felt me up!"

  


"Oh, everybody says that." Bob's voice echoed from down the hall and Tony could only stare in wide-eyed horror as the door slowly slid closed, sealing him in.

  


Sadistic chuckling behind him froze his blood all over again, ushering in a brand new ice age for the abused veins. "I know it's not a bomb." Hot breath next to his left ear. Nausea bubbling in his gut. "And now, we're gonna have some fun."

  


"No!" Tony shouted furiously and ripped his arms out of Jim's iron grasp with a desperate strength he didn't know he possessed. "You ruined my day. I'm not gonna let you ruin my whole fucking life!" There was static in his ear and JARVIS said something unintelligible because Tony, in his panicked scrambling, had turned quickly, swinging a clenched fist around with the momentum of his body and landing a nasty right hook straight to Jim's temple. 

  


The force of it snapped his face to the side and forced a small cry from him, and Tony knew his discombobulation wouldn't last long so he jumped to his feet, lunging at the door, but released a sound that was almost a sob when he found it locked.

  


No windows, no door. Tony was trapped. 

  


Before he could turn around, hands found him once more, twisting his arm behind him and slamming his face into the table, forcing a strangled gasp from him. Pain erupted behind his eyes, blinding him and fuck, he was bent over a damn table, just perfect for-for- "You've got some fight in you." Jim murmured between small pants and Tony bared his teeth and released a feral snarl. "I like that." 

  


"Fuck you!" Tony growled and tried bucking Jim off him but cried out when his hand was forced further up along his spine, the pain paralyzing him. 

  


"Oh there'll be plenty of that." Jim said, and Tony heard what sounded like handcuffs being opened. No, no, no. No! "And don't you worry, I'll enjoy it immensely. I may even keep the tape this time." 

  


'This time'? How many people has this guy done this to? Tony felt righteous fury well up in him and just as the first handcuff was slapped across his wrist, he brought his foot forward and slammed it back into Jim's kneecap. Jim howled, releasing Tony to grab his knee and Tony followed up with an elbow to Jim's ribs, and he stumbled back, rage twisting his face.

  


"Sir, are you being attacked?" 

  


JARVIS! Tony had almost forgotten. "J, get me the fuck out of here! Get someone over here n-"

  


Dammit, he'd let his guard down. A fist had connected with his kidney, effectively stunning him with agony, and he stumbled forward with a pained cry, before feeling what he could only describe as a brick shit house collide with him, pinning him. Jim's full weight was on him, laying atop him and he was panting obscenely into his ear. All Tony could do was clench his eyes shut against the horror of his predicament and concentrate on the effort of sucking air into his crushed lungs. 

  


"Are you done?" Tony didn't bother answering, not that he could, the weight of his attacker just so extreme that it made speech impossible. And everything ached viciously. Where the fuck was Bob at with that paperwork? "Let's try this again." The arm on which the handcuffs were placed was twisted behind him again, the weight on him shifting as Jim placed a hand right next to Tony's face to lift himself, the limb just within biting reach.

  


"Sir, you must keep fighting!" 

  


And damn right, he bit that fucker, nearly gagging when he tasted blood but it was worth it. Jim sat up on him with a yelp and Tony was given enough space to twist around, pull his legs from beneath him and land both his feet into his attacker's gut with a cry of triumph. Jim was thrown back with a whoosh of expelled air and skidded to a halt a few feet away, where he lay grabbing at his abdomen and gasping. 

  


Tony wasted no time in getting to the door. Lock be damned, he'd kick that bitch out, and kick he did, over and over, bellowing curses in his frustration and fear and- 

  


The sound of an electrical current flying through the air was all too familiar to Tony's highly tuned ears. He felt two sharp barbs pierce his left thigh before white hot agony erupted through his entire body, every muscle contracting at once, every nerve firing relentlessly and he was aware of his own screams echoing in the small space as he convulsed violently. Finally it ended, and Tony couldn't move, couldn't hear, couldn't see, could feel nothing but pain.

  


Senses returned slowly, and someone was moaning... oh, it was him. Tony blinked rapidly and shook his head, looking around. At some point he'd ended up on the ground, one wrist was in handcuffs, muscles were spasming and his arc reactor was flickering oddly and... what happened? Someone was standing over him. Jim. The Transportation Security Administration's resident rapist. His face was bloody and he looked livid.

  


Tony groaned, closing his eyes, wishing the man away from him. "JARVIS..." He whispered, and for a terrifying moment he thought the electrical current through his body had shorted out his ear piece. 

  


"Sir, you're alright." JARVIS assured him through jumbled static. "Help is on the way in the form of five very angry Avengers."

  


A sound forced itself from his throat, a relieved sob. It sounded foreign to him.

  


"Who're you talking to, little Stark?" The voice made him flinch. "No one's gonna help you. They'll never get in. You're in a legal detention area." At least he'd worn him down a bit. He was gasping raggedly. "See this?" Tony looked around wearily and focused on the small, black object in his hand. Jim smiled and looked absolutely evil. "This is a very powerful taser. But you know that already."

  


"J-," A hand found its way beneath his armpit and lifted his limp body from the ground. All he could do was groan. "JARV-" Jim slammed him back onto the table and twisted his arms behind him, successfully cuffing his wrists together after thwarting Tony's weak attempt at resistance. 

  


"I'm here, sir."

  


"Please-" He choked around the word as he felt his jeans being tugged off his hips, felt cool air against his exposed body. "-don't go." That familiar, unbidden sting behind his eyes and the accompanying lump that sat in his throat, suffocating him.

  


"I wouldn't dream of it, sir."

  


A low hum of satisfaction and a hand grabbed his ass, smacking it hard and Tony jumped, his eyes snapping open and, oh god, this was happening. No. NO. With a roar rivaling a lion's, Tony threw his head back and felt it collide with soft cartilage, heard a crunch and then a wail, and he smiled. "Take that, pervert."  

  


His victory was terribly short. Something hard and cold was pressed into his neck and pain shot through him once more, familiar but more concentrated and across a smaller area and for a shorter amount of time. But it was still enough to elicit a scream from him and he collapsed back onto the table, exhausted. That was it. That was the last bit of fight he had left in him. The stinging behind his eyes manifested in the form of physical tears which collected behind clenched eyelids. 

  


"Sir, the suit is now entering Pennsylvania airspace." 

  


Hands were back on his ass, spreading his cheeks and he writhed beneath the unwelcome touch with guttural sounds of protest. "This is going to happen, Tony." And fuck his life, he'd used his first name. Unacceptable. "Whether you want it or not." Another sob and tears pooled on the table beneath his face. No escape. No hope. Not like this...

  


"J- JARVIS..." He stammered quietly. "I'm- I'm really scared here, buddy." Something prodded at his entrance and he jumped violently, shifting the table a few inches, the legs making load scraping noises as they skidded against the concrete. He knew what was coming. He knew it, but for all his years of playboy antics, never had he been penetrated. Never had he even touched another man sexually. The finger returned and began making small, soft circles around the ring of senstitive tissue and Tony clenched his shackled fists, steeling himself against further reaction.

  


"Stay with me, sir. I'm right here." 

  


"Tell me, Tony. Who's Jarvis?" Jim inquired, his tone lustful. Tony ignored him entirely. The finger stopped for a moment, before entering him slowly and it *hurt* and he groaned, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, stifling the agonized yell wishing to burst forth from him. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop his tears. "A lover of yours?"

  


"Just shut the fuck up and get it over with." Tony ground out through gritted teeth and he despised himself for the way his voice wavered. He felt a second finger plunge in and the beginnings of a wail escaped his strict containment before being quickly reigned in and transformed into a long groan. Tony took a moment to think about just how fucking weird it was that the TSA agent was still wearing his latex gloves. 

  


What a fucked up little porno he'd stumbled into. And he was letting it happen. Fuck. 'I'm sorry, Pepper. I'm gonna miss date night.'

  


A third finger entered him and now he couldn't hold back the sobs and they wracked his body until he felt as though he would drown in his own tears and mucus. Jim pumped them into him, scissoring them and stretching him and it was so intimately violating and it hurt so much, like a goddamn molten enema. He felt tearing and searing pain and he couldn't stop his wail as something warm and wet slid down his thigh. "I'm not going to make this quick, you know. I think I've earned what I'm getting." His nasally voice indicated a broken nose. Man, Tony had fucked him up good. 

  


"Go to hell." 

  


Suddenly the fingers were gone and Tony moaned and shuddered before relaxing his body out of a tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding. And then something much bigger was there, and Tony's heart rate accelerated rapidly and his breaths were coming in ragged gasps and fuck, if he could just stop crying maybe he could breathe properly! "We're already here, Tony."

  


Jim entered him fast with a gratified moan, not wasting another second for the pleasure he felt he deserved and Tony screamed, cuffs cutting into raw wrists, foot stomping the ground in a futile attempt the push himself away from the agony, from the torture, but Jim held him there, a hand on his back and one on his shoulder. He wanted to pass out. He wanted to die. 

  


"Sir, you're going to be ok, help is coming."

  


Grunts and moans from behind him as Jim thrusted into him, the pace slow but brutal. Tony felt more warm fluid leak down his thighs. Darkness began creeping along the edges of his vision and suddenly he was beyond screaming, beyond further protest, beyond crying. Existing in a state beneath the deceiving comfort of acceptance.

  


"But for now, you must stay strong."

  


Tony's eyes closed. A hard thrust from his attacker and the following smack on his ass snapped him out of it. Fuck, he wanted nothing more than to just black out, to stumble into the relieving depths of unconsciousness. But he had to stay strong, had to stay awake, and god why won't it just fucking stop? 

  


Because he was letting it happen. He was accepting it. No. He had to stay alert. He had to stay strong. "JARVIS..."

  


"Sir, you have to fight!"

  


He had to fight. Fight, Stark, goddammit! So he pulled his leg up, and brought his foot down hard on Jim's, felt bones snap beneath his heal, groaned as the length inside him slipped out. Smirked when he realized Jim was finally the one screaming.

  


He was so fucking done with this shit. His face dry and wrinkled with determination, he swung his cuffed hands beneath shaky legs, bringing them up in front of him before pulling his jeans back up from his knees. He wasn't going to be the one caught with his pants down.

  


Pain was suddenly a distant annoyance as Tony turned to face the other man where he sat on the ground, half flaccid cock hanging out of his fly almost comically, clutching his foot and whimpering. He looked up at Tony, his face twisted in pain, and had the nerve to actually look like he was about to plead with him for mercy. Tony just glared down at him. Silently threatening. 

  


"I'm gonna fuck you up." Tony promised, tone level, controlled. The fear glinting in those soulless eyes brought Tony no emotion. "And then I'll decide whether you live or not." And before the man could offer a retort, or even a pathetic last ditch effort at redemption, Tony clasped his hands together to create a single fist, pulled back and struck his tormenter hard across his demonic face. Jim keeled over with a wail, his jaw now sitting at a weird angle.

  


Over and over Tony kicked him, curb stomped his abdomen, until ribs shifted, cracked, broke and his own cries matched those emitting from Jim, and the body of the satanic bastard settled into unconsciousness. Or a prelude to death. Tony didn't give a shit either way. Panting, soaked in sweat and bleeding, Tony collapsed to his knees. "I did it, J." He murmured.

  


"I had no doubt that you could, sir. Well done."

  


Tony's eyes darted over the unconscious man and he very nearly puked. "Yeah." He said absently. 

  


Feeling disgusted, Tony began riffling through the man's pockets, locating the handcuff keys and releasing his bleeding wrists from the cold embrace of ruthless metal. He searched the other pocket and found a pack of Camels and a lighter. Well, he did have time, and he certainly had a bundle of adrenaline causing his heart to slam against the arc reactor casing in double time.

  


So he pulled a smoke out, lit it, sat back gingerly with a grimace, inhaled the calming smoke and exhaled slowly. Closing his eyes as his heart rate fell, Tony allowed himself to not think of a single thing. Because really, what was there to think about? 

  


Moments later, something slammed into the door a couple times before it burst open, ripping plaster away from the wall and revealing Captain America, shield raised and the Black Widow, pistols aimed, ready to kill whoever she needed to kill. Tony offered no reaction, just took another drag from his cigarette and stared, dead eyed at the wall. Curiously, he'd started shivering.

  


"Tony!" Steve bellowed and this drew a flinch from him. His first name actually drew a flinch from him. Damn. "Tony, good lord, are you ok?"

  


Natasha spared him a glance before walking over to kneel next to his battered attacker and check his pulse. "Don't touch it, you might catch something." Tony uttered softly as he stubbed out his smoke and flicked the butt carelessly away.  

  


Steve and Natasha exchanged worried looks. "Tony, what happened?" Natasha prodded kindly, rising and walking over to him. She extended a hand but he flinched so violently away from it that she withdrew it immediately. 

  


"Nothing." Tony insisted sternly. He grabbed the edge of the table and pulled himself up with a groan, nearly collapsing again as his quivering legs gave out but caught himself before he hit the ground. Managing to stand, he remained stationary for a moment to recalibrate himself, his gaze at the floor, not willing to look at his friends. To allow them to see his haunted eyes. "Absolutely nothing." And he was aware of them watching him as he limped to the door. "Let's get the fuck out of here."  

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god, I'm an awful person. *hides from the judgement*


End file.
